Halo: A soldier's Tale
by Ron Jeremy For President
Summary: Sergeant Master Chase is going to find himself fighting through hordes of Covenant for his very survival. However more may be at stake then just getting by, all of humanity could be at risk...


**CHAPTER ONE: UNTIL HELL FREEZES OVER**

"One hundred yards down the corridor and we're there!", Captain Thomas Chase called out.

The burly, six and a half foot Captain popped out of his cover behind the blast door edge to fire off several bursts from his MA5B assault rifle. His rounds ricocheted off a titanium barricade, keeping a pair of grunts suppressed there. Bright blue bursts plasma filled the spot he occupied only a split second before hand.

"Shit I can feel the heat off that!", the sarge cried out.

"Don't get hit then!", the smaller 5'9 Sergeant Master Pierce called out waiting around the corner from the corridor they just came from. His remark was met with several muffled laughs from the rest of their group which consisted of four marines and seven navy crewmen, not counting the Sarge and the Colonel.

"Suck on this you split-jaw piece of shit!", Lieutenant-Colonel Roux pivoted from behind his own cover on the other side of the open blast door to fire off a well aimed shot from his M90 Close Assault shotgun, flaring up agains the shields of a blue-armored elite forcing it to duck back into a maintenance shaft opening.

"We're running out of time", the 6'3 Lt-Colonel stated.

"Chase put some fire on them! Pierce, Polonski get up here!", Roux continued.

"Make it quick sir that elite's getting pissed!", Chase yelled before the sharp staccato of his automatic weapon could be heard churning out rounds again.

"Me and the Sarge are going to hit him with all our remaining grenades. We're then going to charge out guns blazing. Pierce, you and the Corporal here are going to cover us form this position. Then get everyone else to follow up.", the Colonel explained, the pink battle scar running down the left side of his face and the grizzled appearance helping him command both the respect and fear of his men.

"Anytime now Colonel!", the Captain cried out.

"Alright now!", the Colonel ordered.

Roux and Chase pulled two frag grenades each from their belts, drop the pins and tossed them before ducking back behind cover. The successive explosions and pained barking from grunts gave the signal. The Captain and the Colonel swung out assault rifle and shotgun pumping rounds out with empty casings clanging to the floor around their feet as they fired into the dust of their grenades.

"Last one", the Colonel said as he pulled out their last frag.

"If there wasn't enough shrapnel the first time, this ought to do the trick", the Captain commented with with a sly grin.

The colonel pulled it and tossed it. They both got down on a knee and landlocked away as another explosion rang out. However it was followed by another one… then another one…

The Colonel looked up in horror to see his frag had caused a chain explosion with the plasma grenades from the fallen grunts. Huge bubbles of blue energy erupted instantaneously and the secondary plasma explosions cause tertiary explosions in the piping and electrical systems in the corridor walls with the plasma burning through the titanium wall sheeting and overheating the electrical wiring. Titanium plates began bursting off the corridor walls successively in their direction.

"Get down, Everybody down!", the Colonel yelled swiveling around to call out behind him.

He looked over to see the Captain sprawled out on the floor, his hands covering his head and was about to get down himself when his vision was filled with the sight of a grey titanium plate flying towards him. Then, everything was black.

His ears ringing and all his muscles aching, Captain Chase slowly and painfully got back up using his rifle for support. As his blurry vision recovered he could barely take in the devastated corridor where small independent fires burned on the bare walls and floor. Small pieces of Covenant flesh were strewn across the floor, but now discernible corpses remained. He looked down the corridor where it met up with the hallway where one of the few remaining escape pods were waiting.

He heard a crackling on his helmet com, "Is anyone left in our sector. We've got to punch out now!", the voice of a pod flight jockey rang out.

"Hang on, we've got a team of marines and navy techs in bound!", the Captain yelled into his mic.

"Ninety seconds and we're gone, get here!", the reply came swiftly.

Chase looked around and saw the black combat boot of the Colonel sticking out from under a collapsed plate. He rushed over and slowly lifted it off throwing it to the side with a loud crash.

"Pierce! Polonski! Anyone there!", the Captain called out.

Before him lay the Colonel, a piece of metal from the interior of the corridor wall lodged in his chest, cutting straight through his titanium chest guard. Crimson liquid was visible in sickening amounts on his fatigues and armor. He looked pale and blue and coughed painfully with blood sputtering down the sides of lips and neck. The Captain pulled the Colonel's helmet off.

"Pierce! Polonski! Someone! We need a med kit now!", the Captain yelled out.

The Colonel tried to mouth something but was unable to speak and more blood flowed from his mouth. His hand was clutching something in the hip of his olive fatigues. The Captain pulled out a note, but running out of time he stashed it in his own pockets without looking at it.

"Hang on just a little bit longer!", Chase called out on his mic.

"You've got thirty seconds!", the jockey yelled back.

"Give me sixty!", Chase yelled.

Hurry the hell up!", came the reply.

"No! No! Don't do this Colonel! Pierce! Polonski! Someone help!", he yelled at the top of his lungs.

The Captain watched as the eyes of the Colonel glazed over looking lifeless up at the ceiling. _Another dead hero, _he thought to himself.

"Cap! Cap! You okay?", Corporal Polonski asked barreling over to him.

"Where is everyone?", Chase asked.

"I lost Pierce sir. The rest of the group got scared off by the explosions I guess, couldn't find them", the Corporal replied.

The Sarge took the M90 and slung it over his shoulder and ripped the Colonel's dog tags off.

"Polonski, lets get the hell out of here!", the Captain said rising from his friend's side.

The two barreled down the ravaged corridor, leaping over falling pieces of titanium and pieces of flesh. With no time to spare they dashed into the next hallway and near enough dove through the air lock into the pod.

"This is it, go, go, go!", the Sarge yelled.

"That's it we're punching out of here for good!",the jockey yelled.

The Captain and the Corporal buckled into their seats. Across from them was a Combat Medic with an M7 Sub Machine Gun cradled in his lap and a Marine Private, an M392 Designated Marksmen Rifle resting against his shoulder. Apart from them only two navy techs with their M6D side arms holstered sat further into the pod, it was a small compliment, clearly not many crewmen were going to be making it off.

Just before the pod launched, a soldier jumped in, missing the pod doors by inches. It was Pierce.

"Ass holes lost me my fucking rifle", he said, strapping himself in as they blasted into space.

"Do you think the Covies are gonna take the Autumn before Keyes can land her on that ring thing?", the Corporal asked, turning to Chase.

Looking back Chase replied, "until hell itself freezes over, Keyes ain't letting no son of a bitch covie get control of his baby".


End file.
